Dragon Gate USA – Enter The Dragon 2011: Second Anniversary Celebration – 5th June 2011
After a solid but as yet unspectacular weekend thus far, Dragon Gate USA now celebrates it’s second birthday. This is easily the strongest card of the triple shot, with a number of really juicy matches in store for us. Masato Yoshino faces Ricochet, the DUF face the Dragon Gate veterans in a hotly anticipated tag match, Pac challenges YAMATO for the Open The Freedom Gate Title, and Ronin collide with Blood Warriors in an elimination bout – still looking for a partner since Chuck Taylor is out injured. There’s also the biggest Fray in DGUSA history too! We return to the awesome little Times Square venue – BB Kings, in Manhattan, NY. Lenny Leonard and the irritatingly hyperactive Rob Naylor will once again call the action.
Ricochet vs Masato Yoshino
Yoshino is another member of the new Junction Three group which has formed to take down the Blood Warriors. Here he journeys to Ricochet’s home country looking to deliver a devastating defeat to the super-athletic high-flier in the Warriors ranks. Ricochet himself will come in full of confidence having won the main event Freestyle last night in Long Island.
Yoshino is made keenly aware of the presence of the rest of the Blood Warriors right away, as Austin Aries makes a grab at his feet allowing Ricochet to jump him and rake his face. Ricochet sets his stall out and actually out-paces the Speed Star in the opening minutes. It irritates Yoshi to such an extent that he starts using cheap shots and chokes himself, which is rather out of character for him. He attacks Rico’s arm, looking to set him up for the Sol Naciente even at this early stage. However, Ricochet has plenty of assistance at ringside and simply has to toss Yoshino out of the ring into the laps of CIMA, Aries and Brodie to make sure his arm doesn’t sustain too much damage. The Blood Warriors have their cheating routine down to such a tee that it even has the commentators praising their cohesiveness as a unit. Finally Yoshi lands the Sling Blade but is so beaten up even he is moving more slowly than normal. Ricochet misses a backflip…then misses an springboard Ace Crusher too! Yoshino has sustained SO much damage apparently, since even then he can’t capitalise and stumbles blindly into a corkscrew enzi. Standing moonsault blocked with knees, into From Jungle! CIMA and Lee are so panicked they are almost inside the ring willing Ricochet to the ropes. DOUBLE STOMP ON THE ARM! Torbellino COUNTERED WITH A NECKBREAKER! STANDING SSP GETS 2! Now Ricochet’s arm is hurting him it seems. He is slow to execute a springboard dropkick, and eventually sails straight into a double boot to the guts. ROPE WALK MISSILE DROPKICK BY YOSHINO! He drags Rico up by the bad arm, and even though he can’t hit the Lightning Spiral Ricochet still has serious problems countering him into the flipping Regalplex. SECOND ROPE SHOOTING STAR PRESS GETS 2! Yoshino crotches him as he thinks about the double rotation moonsault, then counters him with a SLINGSHOT AVALANCHE SLING BLADE! Both men down! Lightning Spiral blocked! Backslide Driver blocked! LIGHTNING SPIRAL! Ricochet kicks out but walks into a Torbellino! SOL NACIENTE! With the arm already weakened, Ricochet quits at 16:54
Rating - **** - This was a hell of a way to start the show. I liked that they went in a completely different direction to what you may have expected. This wasn’t all about speed and dazzling aerial moves, and was actually rather slower and more methodically paced – but they really excelled at it. Yoshino is the more established act, so it made sense that Ricochet continually needed outside interference to keep him in the fight, and I loved the way Yoshino gradually got more and more intense with his work on the arm as the match progressed. Credit to Ricochet for making a decent fist of selling the injury too. This was possibly his best singles match in DGUSA thus far. Considering what Yoshino still has in store for him tonight (more on that later) this was a surprisingly lengthy, hard-fought and enjoyable opening contest.
The Blood Warriors assault Yoshino after the match, then kick the sh*t out of Pac too when he tries to help his tag partner. Eventually YAMATO comes out to assist his Junction Three colleagues…before he and Pac go face to face. They fight for the Freedom Gate later tonight.
Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann are backstage, still without a third man for their clash with Blood Warriors later. ‘Goldberg would really come in handy right now’ – Gargano. Rich has a plan, which presumably doesn’t involve calling up big Bill.
DGUSA YEAR 2 MATCHES & MOMENTS – Ricochet teams up with CIMA and hits the double rotation moonsault for the first time in DGUSA, before getting a huge victory over Naruki Doi. This was at Untouchable 2010.
Pinkie Sanchez vs AR Fox
Both of these two seem on the cusp of something special in DGUSA. Fox was fantastic in his showstealing bout with Akira Tozawa last night, whilst Pinkie is becoming one of the most entertaining parts of the show with his attempts to impress Sami Callihan and Arik Cannon so they’ll let him join the DUF. For Sanchez, a win over a pretty and talented performer like Fox will surely go a long way to earning the spot in DUF he so covets.
Lenny Leonard is gushing over Fox, putting him over as the best young wrestler on the whole DGUSA roster – which is a massive statement. Pinkie’s body is covered in welts from the abuse he’s sustained this weekend, so it’s actually impressive that he holds his own in the first few minutes. Eventually AR’s speed and power comes to the fore, seeing him land a heel kick and a jumping elbow smash – driving Sanchez outside. He scares the SH*T out of an innocent waitress (which seems a little mean), steals a front row fan’s shoe…then gets his face bashed into the railings by Fox! Is Pinkie tweaking his nipples as Fox punishes him? Incredibly he hits a JUMPING DDT out of the corner, and is seriously starting to win fans over with his oddball antics (myself included). Fox tries to grab his tights to get some extra leverage…so Sanchez PULLS HIS OWN TRUNKS DOWN AND HITS AN EARTHQUAKE SPLASH! CHOP TO THE REFEREE! This guy is nuts! Ass strike to Fox’s face, as he continues to fight in his underwear with his tights around his ankles. Even when AR gets to the ropes there’s no respite, since Sanchez advances towards him for a Stinkface. He still hasn’t pulled them up as he tries to dive off the top rope…so Fox catches him, pulls his pants up for him then drops him with a twisting brainbuster. Pinkie falls outside the ring and doesn’t have time to get back to his feet before Fox is on him with a SPRINGBOARD 450 SPLASH TO THE FLOOR! Lo Mein Pain BLOCKED WITH THE PINK MIST! FLYING ASS TO THE FACE! BOOTIEZ4BREAKFAST gets 2! In the end Sanchez tries one aerial move too many, propelling himself into an airplane spin. Swanton Bomb nailed…sending us into a sequence where both guys frantically got for flash pins. Stunner scores for AR, and he completes the Ode To Stone Cold by stomping Sanchez in the corner and flipping the bird. LO MEIN PAIN! Fox nearly crippled himself on that, but he wins at 13:03
Rating - *** - Not everything was clean, but it was entertaining as hell and proved beyond any shadow of doubt that both guys are ready for greater exposure within DGUSA. Fox has had a great weekend, with his decent performance here complimenting the stellar Tozawa match nicely…but Pinkie will get all the plaudits coming out of this. He was just another random little filler talent at the start of the weekend, but leaves it as one of the most intriguing and entertaining characters on the roster. His weird, gross, sometimes-disturbing style won this crowd over within minutes. He needs to be on every show now.
Sami Callihan and Arik Cannon come out, with Sami complaining that AR Fox is getting opportunities that they aren’t based on how he looks. He also refers to Pinkie as a ‘DUF’, thus implying that he has now earned his spot in the faction. Cannon punches Fox in the face, as Pinkie drags a beer keg and a big metal post into the ring. CALLIHAN SMASHES THE KEG INTO FOX’S FACE! They are trying to make him ugly! Great angle, and it really gets the DUF guys over to anyone who had any doubts about them.
DGUSA YEAR 2 MATCHES & MOMENTS – The World-1 vs Kamikaze USA trios tag main event from Way Of The Ronin. That match is well worth checking out if you’ve not seen it. It’s one of the best matches in Dragon Gate USA history.
Cedric Alexander vs Ahtu vs Jon Davis vs Tony Nese vs Sugar Dunkerton vs Flip Kendrick vs Louis Lyndon vs Caleb Konley vs Façade
This Fray is a little different. It will be fought Royal Rumble style, with two men starting then another joining them every minute or so. Elimination is by pinfall or submission however. It’s interesting to see Cedric pop up on a DGUSA show. He didn’t solidify his ROH roster spot until the following year. Ahtu is managed by Larry Dallas, who will become a big presence in the WWNLive universe. Dallas has vowed that Ahtu will win this or he will leave DGUSA permanently. Elsewhere we have Konley, Kendrick and Lyndon who impressed in last night’s stunning 8-man Freestyle. Jon Davis has been getting a push and is so powerful that he has to be considered one of the favourites. Tony Nese has made his way to DGUSA for the first time this weekend and has impressed whilst going winless. Façade and Dunkerton return for the first time since participating in the Breakout Challenge at Open The Southern Gate.
Nobody seems to recognise Dallas so doesn’t really care that he’ll leave DGUSA if Ahtu (who is a beast) loses. Looking like Terry from Brooklyn Nine Nine, Ahtu no sells all of Cedric’s offence then mows him down with a spear. Pumphandle DDT eliminates Alexander at 01:15 (so much for sixty second intervals between entrants). Davis is in next, and he isn’t remotely intimidated by Ahtu’s power. SLAP TO THE FACE! POUUUUUUUNCE! Ahtu is eliminated at 02:42! Tony Nese arrives at the three minute mark, so I presume wrestlers are actually coming in at 90-second intervals. Davis drives him into the mat almost immediately with a big powerslam. Sugar Dunkerton is #5, jumping off the ropes into an X-Factor on Davis. He busts Nese open with something, before Flip Kendrick makes his arrival as entrant #6. Standing double rotation senton gets 2 on Sugar! #7 is his Aeroform tag partner Lyndon, which is just as well because Davis had started kicking his ass. Lyndon misses a quebrada and gets into a brawl with Dunkerton from there. Caleb Konley enters at #8, and with only two eliminations thus far there are an increasing number of bodies around ringside. Konley does his best to thin the herd, but can’t put Sugar away with a Regalplex. The final entrant (#9) is Façade, as Lyndon dives out of the ring with a tope con hilo…and Kendrick follows with a somersault plancha. Façade copies him with a much sh*ttier version of the same high spot. ROPE RUN SOMERSAULT PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR…and he nailed that whilst basically slipping off the top too! SEATED CATTLE MUTILATION! Façade makes Dunkerton tap at 11:22! The crowd hate that since Sugar is popular and Façade looks on the brink of botching everything he attempts. Jon Davis re-enters the ring and fights through by Lyndon and Façade with ease. He gives them a DOUBLE DVD, eliminating Louis at 12:38. ONE ARM back suplex driver polishes Façade off at 13:20 too. Kendrick hits Nese with a corkscrew senton then has to battle on the ropes with Caleb. Nese then powerbombs both of them into a tower of doom. JUMPING INVERTED TOMBSTONE from Nese eliminates Flip at 15:32. Nese isn’t done either – polishing off Konley as well with a bridging German at 16:14. We’re down to two, and they back off to opposing corners to stare each other down. Nese moves first, pounding Jon into the corner with kicks and elbows. He comes off the top rope…only to be caught with a spinebuster! Powerbomb attempted by Davis…and now Nese counters with a hurricanrana for 2! Jackhammer gets 2 for the DCFC member! 3 Seconds Around The World wins it for Davis at 19:05
Rating - *** - Way too long, and not a patch on the 8-man Freestyle from Uprising 2011, but on the whole you could see a whole bunch of guys busting their asses to entertain you, and I can respect that. I can’t pretend it didn’t feel like it dragged, but in the end I stuck with 3* because there was still plenty of decent action…and this match undeniably made Jon Davis look like a star. Considering how much he’s struggled to get over thus far in DGUSA, and considering how TERRIBLE his match was on the first show of this triple shot – that has to count as a real achievement. It was pleasing to see Nese make it to the final two, the Ahtu/Davis stuff at the start was pretty fun and everyone else contributed. Façade probably isn’t good enough at this point in his career, whilst guys like Kendrick, Lyndon and Alexander don’t have the presence or mass appeal that guys like Ricochet, Fox or Swann have – otherwise they’d already be on the roster. But considering how bad some of these filler undercard matches have been when Gabe has tossed a bunch of low-ranking US indy scene guys in a ring together this was decent.
Ronin are still backstage. Rich Swann scuttles back into the shot looking super-pleased with himself since his plan worked and he has recruited a third for their team. Who will it be?
DGUSA YEAR 2 MATCHES & MOMENTS – Ronin are formed at Bushido: Code Of The Warrior
Sami Callihan/Arik Cannon vs Masaaki Mochizuki/Susumu Yokosuka
These four guys have been feuding all weekend. Callihan took Dream Gate Champion Mochizuki to the limit at Fearless two nights ago, and earned the respect of the veteran…until he and Cannon attacked him. Yokosuka came out to help his friend, and we got a mass brawl between them all. Last night Masaaki accused the DUF guys of not respecting him as a veteran and a champion – and vowed revenge. He dished out a punishing beating on Arik Cannon to go 2-0 over DUF for the weekend, before once again they all brawled around ringside. Can Callihan and Cannon get their big win over the two high profile Japanese imports, or will they leave the weekend with yet another violent loss to Mochizuki?
DUF try to repeat what Mochizuki did to Cannon last night and sprint straight at their opponents. Sadly it doesn’t work for them, with Mochi himself taking Sami down with a big boot and Yoko drilling Arik with a lariat. He drills Cannon with another one on the apron, leaving him in position for the running soccer punt from the Dream Gate Champion. It deposits The Anarchist on the floor so they have all the time in the world to work over Callihan. Mochi is an absolute bastard with it – trying to break Sami’s fingers WHILST brutalising his striking arm (just like he did two nights ago) with a Fujiwara armbar. Yokosuka then Lion Tamer’s Sami…whilst Mochizuki takes a run up to boot him straight in the exposed chest. Out of nowhere Callihan manages to dragon screw Yokosuka, which gives him an opportunity to tag out and also opens up an injury Cannon can pursue. Interestingly, when Callihan tags back in after some recovery time, he’s still putting over the effects of the work on his arm by not using it to work over the leg. He hits a diving headbutt to the knee, then positions Susumu against the ropes to give him the REBOUND SPLASH ACROSS THE LEGS! There’s also a little bit of insult added to the injury as he repeatedly bashes Yoko’s legs into the canvas, just as he likes to do so often. This may not be recklessly exciting but there is SO much story-telling going on at the moment. In the end it’s only when Callihan tries to use the arms (looking for a Back Drop Driver) that Yokosuka is able to free himself. He dropkicks Sami’s knees from under him and makes the crucial tag to Mochi. SANKAKUGERI to the apron! MAFIA KICK ON CANNON! He puts Arik in the cross armbreaker, and when Callihan tries to save his partner nails him with ASHI YOKOSUKA! Figure 4 on him! But since the veterans hadn’t worked Cannon’s arm before that he’s still able to free himself! PENALTY KICK gets 2! Twister blocked…SPINNING BRAINBUSTER BY CANNON! ASSISTED TOTAL ANARCHY by the DUF gets 2! Cannon misses his moonsault and eats JUMBO NO KACHI! JUMBO NO KACHI ON CALLIHAN TOO! IKKAKUGERI! And that knee crunched into Sami’s bad arm too! EXPLODER SUPERPLEX BY YOKOSUKA! BUZZSAW KICK! JUMBO NO KACHI-GATAME! CANNON BREAKS IT! Yokosuka is in disbelief, and the crowd are actually starting to get behind the DUF! BACK DROP DRIVER BY SAMI! YOKOSUKA NO SELLS! BICYCLE KICK NAILED! GLIMMERING WARLOCK! RUNNING ELBOW! STRETCH MUFFLER! ON THE LEG THEY WORKED ALL MATCH! Mochizuki tries to save with kicks…CALLIHAN NO SELLS! STRETCH MUFFLER WITH BODYSCISSORS…AND HEAD KICKS! YOKO TAPS! DUF win at 16:49
Rating - ****1/2 - INCREDIBLE match. It’s not one that’s gotten a lot of buzz from everyone, but this is genuinely one of my favourite DGUSA matches thus far. The combination of fantastic story-telling, hard-hitting action, a stunning closing sequence, and the way Gabe really intelligently used two outstanding Dragon Gate veterans to make stars out of two of his American workers makes this a can’t miss match for me. I’ve seen some criticism of the selling in some quarters…but for the most part I actually thought it was pretty realistic. I could have done with Yokosuka acknowledging his leg a tad more (since DUF worked damn hard on that injury), but everything else hit the mark for me. I didn’t need to see Sami nursing his arm constantly, but I liked the way he avoided using the arm the veterans had worked whenever possible – be it during the heat segment on Yoko or the final moments. Other than one Back Drop Driver I can’t remember him using the battered left arm for much at all. Hell, even the start of this was brilliant with DUF trying to rip-off Mochizuki’s tactics from the previous evening but failing miserably. We’re going to have to see something really special from the two main events to stop this being the best match of the entire weekend.
DGUSA YEAR 2 MATCHES & MOMENTS – World-1 defeat Doi and Ricochet in the best match of the tournament to crown the United Gate Champions at United: Philly.
Before the main event it’s time to find out who Rich Swann found to be Ronin’s partner. CIMA cracks up because he thinks nobody is coming to help Ronin…but as Brodie tries to attack them, Masato Yoshino makes his way to the ring!
CIMA/Austin Aries/Brodie Lee vs Johnny Gargano/Rich Swann/Masato Yoshino
Swann getting Yoshino to join their team makes perfect sense. Yoshi is still smarting from being forced to disband World-1 thanks to the Blood Warriors, and is now part of the new Junction Three group dedicated to taking them down. Rich Swann himself would soon become part of that faction in Japan as well. And the Warriors also assaulted him earlier after he defeated Ricochet. The WrestleMania weekend was a tough one for Ronin. They didn’t win a match in the Stable Shootout, and lost their big trios tag main event at Mercury Rising 2011. Aries then turned on them to join the Blood Warriors at Open The Ultimate Gate 2011 too. Wins have been hard to come by for the group since they surprisingly made it to the finals of the Open The United Gate tournament. With a member of the core Dragon Gate roster now on their side, is tonight finally the time for them to score a definitive victory over their arch-enemy CIMA and his gang?
Lee and Aries are already fighting Swann and Gargano on the floor as Yoshino storms into the ring straight into a brawl with Cima. APRON BOMB from Aries to Swann! He then drives Gargano into the guardrails with a slingshot axehandle smash. Once again Cima is smiling and laughing, this time as he and Brodie take liberties with a defenceless Swann. A semblance of order is instated, with the Warriors taking it in turns to kick lumps out of Rich – not letting him get anywhere near his partners on the apron. Swann tries to show his athleticism by dishing out dropkicks for everyone…but Brodie NO SELLS! DROPKICKS BY BRODIE! At least the mayhem caused by that does enable Swann to tag out to Johnny…but unfortunately he is quickly mauled by a Cima and A-Double combo to put him in the exact same position as his stable-mate was seconds earlier. Yoshino comes to his aid this time, leading Ronin on one of his signature sequences – as they all take turns flying off the ropes into strikes on Austin’s arm. Lenny Leonard sensibly points out that since Aries is left-handed all these shots are particularly devastating. Ronin make a rookie error though, and leave the weakened Swann in the ring for too long. Aries is able to fight past him in his fatigued state and make a much-needed tag to Cima before the babyfaces can do too much damage. Gargano and Yoshino charge the ring, determined not to let the Blood Warrior leader isolate their partner again. Instead they ground him, setting him up for the Leap From Swann Pond! ICONOCLASM ON GARGANO! Brodie then rocket launchers Swann straight into him! The point they are making is that the Warriors are a cohesive unit and have had weeks to prepare for this.
The Ronin/Yoshino trio are an impromptu team and are struggling to consistently keep their opponents on the back foot for any extended period of time. Aries even taunts Gargano by pretending to hit Rich with the Hurtz Donut (great spot by Rob Naylor – to give credit where it’s due). Cima then does the same thing to Yoshino by pretending to give him the Sol Naciente. LEAP FROM BRODIE POND gets 2! Just when all seems lost for Swann he hits a VERTICAL LEAP SUPER RANA on Cima and lunges into a tag! TOTAL ELIMINATION from Ronin to Brodie! The Big Rig is quick to recover and slam Gargano on the floor though. Inside the ring Aries gives Swann the Brainbuster, then flips him into the LAST CHANCERY! Yoshino saves! Colmillo on Cima! JUMPING ROCKER DROPPER BY SWANN! Torbellino! Lightning Spiral COUNTERED to a Skayde pin! Cima eliminates Yoshino at 18:42! And the Blood Warriors have basically beaten Swann into the ground too remember. Ronin frantically try to get the jump on Cima, with Rich getting a 2-count after moonsaulting off Gargano’s back. Lee rescues his leader and gives Swann the BIG BOOT! Weirdly Brodie goes down as well after hitting that, and I’m pretty sure he may legit injured himself because I swear you can hear him shouting ‘you’re going to have to pin me’. Swann obliges, and basically flops down on top of the injured trucker to eliminate him at 20:40. Since I’m guessing that wasn’t scripted lets see how these guys work on the fly. Lee gets a standing ovation as a hoard of people try to help him up the stairs to the locker room whilst Gargano and Aries brawl on the stage. In the ring Cima and Swann are TEEING OFF on each other with kicks!
RICH KICK MISSES! AVALANCHE PERFECT DRIVER…FOR 2! METEORA! Swann is eliminated at 24:13. Gargano is dragged back in with the second Iconoclasm of the night, and is now alone to fight off two of the finest workers of the last decade in Cima and Aries. The Warriors poke fun at him by attacking his groin – since that’s what injury Chuck Taylor has. ‘Ronin baby…Ronin baby…I am baby’ – Cima, whilst sucking his thumb. So random! ELBOW SUICIDA ON ARIES! TOPE SUICIDA ON CIMA! CANNONBALL OFF THE APRON! Hurtz Donut blocked…SCHWEIN COUNTERED TO THE HURTZ DONUT! GARGANO ESCAPE! CIMA TAPS! CIMA TAPS! That’s the second time Gargano has submitted him to that hold, and he’s eliminated at 28:29. We’re down to the final two, and it’s a rematch of the hard-fought battle A-Double and Gargano fought two nights ago at Fearless 2011. GARGANO SLAPS HIM IN THE FACE! HURTZ DONUT! FOR 2! Gargano Escape blocked…SLINGSHOT SPEAR COUNTERED TO THE LAST CHANCERY! Johnny makes the ropes, blocks the Brainbuster and drags both of their bodies to the apron. Aries gives him a neckbreaker in the ropes, then the HEAT SEEKING MISSILE! BRAINBUSTER BY GARGANO! Both men are down! They get up swinging elbows at each other, until Austin puts the Ronin member on his head with the shinbreak back suplex. Impact Explosion Dropkick sets up the BRAINBUSTER…for 2! 450 SPLASH NAILED! GARGANO KICKS OUT! KICK OF DEATH! IED…BLOCKED WITH A SUPERKICK! HURTZ DONUT! GARGANO ESCAPE! ARIES TAPS! GARGANO WINS! He finally gets his big win over the Blood Warriors at 35:19
Rating - **** - I’ve never made a secret of the fact that I really like it when big multi-man tag matches with several main event level players in a promotion gets plenty of time. Going the best part of 40-minutes may have alienated a portion of the fanbase who simply don’t like matches that go this long, but I really enjoyed watching these guys go to town. There was comedy, action, drama, some amazing high spots, legitimate injuries and outstanding professionalism from some seriously experienced workers. And it all culminated in a huge win for Gargano, who has been waiting a LONG time for that big victory. During his fake retirement speech at Open The Ultimate Gate Aries actually said that he hates it when people go out and don’t pass the torch. This was his actual last weekend in DGUSA, and it’s fitting that he leaves tapping out and giving the future ace of the promotion (Gargano) his big moment. Not everything was perfect – I felt Yoshino was seriously under-utilised and at times it did feel like the heat segment on Swann was dragging…but on the whole we got tons of quality throughout this, and it all built to a big finish which advances storylines and genuinely elevates a deserving talent. Kudos to all six guys…
CIMA’s facials and sheer agony at Gargano’s win are epic. On a level with HHH’s panic when Mankind unmasked to reveal Cactus Jack back in 2000.
DGUSA YEAR 2 MATCHES & MOMENTS – YAMATO’s amazing title defences over consecutive nights against Austin Aries and Akira Tozawa during WrestleMania weekend. A graphic informs me that they were actually within an incredible sixteen hours of each other. Both are well worth watching.
YAMATO vs Pac – Open The Freedom Gate Title Match
Pac’s won/loss record in DGUSA is seriously decent, which is probably why he’s been given this opportunity on such a big show. In 2011 he has been in blistering form, winning the United Gate Championship with Masato Yoshino, defending his Open The Brave Gate Title against Tozawa and surviving a couple of high profile challenges to the United Gate titles. Those include defeating YAMATO (and his selected partner Tozawa) two nights ago in Boston. Will YAMATO, one of the top wrestlers in DGUSA since its inception, be able to negate the incredible aerial athleticism and high flying theatrics of the Englishman?
Pac tries to wrestle with Yamato from the bell, and actually does a decent job despite lacking the credentials as a mat wrestler that the champion has. However, it’s when he quickens the pace and pops into a jumping dropkick to the face that he really comes into his own. Yamato simply can’t live with him and is put down for the first significant nearfall of the match. The first five minutes of the contest are almost totally dominated by the challenger as Yamato simply can’t nail down a strategy to put his challenger on the back foot. EXPLODER SUPLEX INTO THE TURNBUCKLES! In one move the champ erases Pac’s hard work, and he uses the opportunity to start violently attacking his leg. Yamato has the Englishman hobbled, and exploits the advantage by pummelling him with hard strikes. Anklelock applied next to leave his opponent screaming in pain. Pac escapes the Doujime Sleeper, and tricks Yamato into tumbling out of the ring. RUNNING CORKSCREW MOONSAULT OVER THE TURNBUCKLES TO THE FLOOR! STANDING RED ARROW gets 2! I appreciate Pac’s effort, but selling the leg right before you do moves like that seems a little pointless! Yamato puts him back in a high angle half crab almost as punishment for daring to no sell the injury in such a way. Pac hits a jumping enzi (with the bad leg), but is slow to climb the ropes and gets caught up there by the champ. Pac blocks a superplex attempt with a SPRINGBOARD SUNSET BOMB! SPRINGBOARD 450 GETS 2! Yamato is able to block Pac’s bridging German suplex, which we’ll generously say is because of the leg injury. Pac LANDS ON HIS FEET from a Yamato German suplex attempt, but collapses into the corner due to his bad wheel. Oddly it’s fine seconds later again when he hits a springboard dropkick though! At least he stays down after hitting it to sell I suppose. Yamato sprints at him looking for the Spear, but gets dodged into the bridging German suplex…for 2. You can hear fans in the crowd actively laughing at Pac’s comedy leg selling now. He tries another German suplex…only for Yamato to counter to the Anklelock! Pac stands up…HEAD DROP SLEEPER SUPLEX! GERMAN SUPLEX! PAC NO SELLS! GERMAN SUPLEX AGAIN! DOUJIME SLEEPER! Pac refuses to quit and then defies the bad leg to CLIMB UP THE ROPES WITH YAMATO ON HIS BACK! SECOND ROPE PHOENIX SPLASH…GETS 2! The ceiling is too low for him to hit the Red Arrow though, so Yamato gives him the Go 2 Hospital. ROLLING BRAINBUSTERS! GALLERIA! Yamato retains at 22:29
Rating - **** - I really enjoyed this match. I have plenty I could say about Pac’s ridiculous selling, but I always prefer to focus on the positives and despite the obvious deficiencies in Pac’s performance, the majority of this was still tremendously exciting. I thought they played up the high flier vs dangerous mat wrestler aspects of it really well, particularly once YAMATO started working the leg and busting out some sweet counters to some of Pac’s signature combinations. There were times when Pac’s bizarre and inconsistent selling of the leg injury threatened to turn this into a comedy match (seriously, when fans are noticeably laughing at you, you’re doing something wrong)…but he also provided some really exciting moments. I really loved how this match went out of his way to play up Pac’s improvements as a wrestler in the last few years. He was able to show he could strike, and even show he could wrestle with someone as good as YAMATO in the opening minutes. I’m not saying this one doesn’t have some problems, but it had some real plus points too…and made for a fun main event.
YAMATO tries to show respect to Pac, but is interrupted by CIMA – who throws his hat into the ring for the next Freedom Gate Title shot since he defeated him at Uprising 2011. Ricochet hits the ring as well, attacking Pac from behind as CIMA wipes out YAMATO. Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann make the save…and Gargano is shown staring at the Freedom Gate title belt before finally handing it to YAMATO. He tells the crowd he’s come from the pre-shows to the main event in two years, leads arguably the top stable. After thanking the fans for supporting the company, he announces that he plans to go for the Freedom Gate Title himself in year three…
Tape Rating - **** - Best DGUSA show of the year so far. Not a bad match on the card, and some really outstanding performances. Interestingly, and to Gabe’s credit, once again a lot of the best showings came from American wrestlers too. Ricochet was surprisingly good in the opener with Yoshino. The AR Fox vs Pinkie Sanchez match was astoundingly decent. The big Fray in the middle of the show actually got Jon Davis someway over. Johnny Gargano finally getting his big victory over the Blood Warriors was a hell of a moment. Plus the show was absolutely stolen by the stunning midcard tag between the Dragon Gate veterans and the DUF. Stars were made or enhanced, the in-ring product was really strong and there were genuine attempts at pushing storylines forward in really interesting directions too. This whole weekend has been packed full of strikingly good matches…but this event provided the kind of top-to-bottom consistently which DGUSA has struggled with all year. I enjoyed this as much as any show I’ve seen in the past year or so.
SIDENOTE – Where the hell was Tozawa for this show? Was he injured or something?
Top 3 Matches
3) Masato Yoshino vs Ricochet (****)
2) Johnny Gargano/Rich Swann/Masato Yoshino vs CIMA/Austin Aries/Brodie Lee (****)
1) Sami Callihan/Arik Cannon vs Masaaki Mochizuki/Susumu Yokosuka (****1/2)
Top 7 Fearless/Uprising/Enter The Dragon 2011 Weekend Matches
7) Ricochet vs Rich Swann vs Pac (**** - Uprising 2011)
6) Akira Tozawa vs AR Fox (**** - Uprising 2011)
5) Masaaki Mochizuki vs Sami Callihan (**** - Fearless 2011)
4) Johnny Gargano/Rich Swann/Masato Yoshino vs CIMA/Austin Aries/Brodie Lee(**** - Enter The Dragon 2011)
3) Austin Aries vs Johnny Gargano (**** - Fearless 2011)
2) Masato Yoshino/Pac vs YAMATO/Akira Tozawa (**** - Fearless 2011)
1) Sami Callihan/Arik Cannon vs Masaaki Mochizuki/Susumu Yokosuka (****1/2 - Enter The Dragon 2011)